Bottle capping machine



March 31, 1936.

J. G. ROEHM El' AL BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINE Filed May l, 1930 14 Sheets-Sheet l TTR EYS March 31, 1936. G' ROEHM ET AL 2,035,983

BOTTLE CAPPI NG MACHI NE Filed May 1, 1930v 14 Sheets-Sheet 2 Wir/V568 www Marchl, 1936.

BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINE Filed May l, 1930 14 Sheets-Sheet 3 /YrroR/YE Ys J. G. RoEHM ET Al. 2,035,983 y MalCh 31, 1936. J. G. ROEHM ET AL BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINE Filed. May l, 1930 14 Sheets-Sheet 4 .4. N 4 N f H 8 l., M M 9 ML w my a 9 J March 31, 1936. J. G. ROEHM ET A1.

BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINE Filed May l, 1930 14 Sheets-Sheet 5 Wir/YE as March 31,1936. J. G. ROEHM ET AL 2,035,983

BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINE Filed May l, 1950 14 Sheets-Sheet 6 h OEM 245%@ NORNE rs March 31, 1936. J G, ROEHM ET AL 2,035,983

BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINE Filed May l, 1930, 14 Sheets-Sheet 7 Wir/wma` March 31, 1936. J. G. RoEl-IM ET AL BOTTLE CAPPTNG MACHINE 14 Sheets-Sheet 8 Filed May l, 1950 March 31, 1936. J. G. ROEHM ET AL BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINE Filed May l,

1930 14 Sheets-Sheet l0 ,251 .2&4

, 270240 25724/ 273242 243 efe" /8-6F 49 March 31, 1936.

J. G. ROEHM ET AL BOTTLE CAP`PING MACHINE Filed May l, 1930 14 Sheets-Sheet ll @.Mdfwm TTORNEYS March 31, l936 J. G. ROEHM ET A1.v 2,035,983

BOTTLE CAPPI NG MACHINE n March 31, 1936.

J. G. ROEHM El' AL BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINE Filed May l, 1930 rrale :Ys

March 3l, 1936. 1 G, ROEHM ET AL 2,035,983

BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINE Filed May 1, 1930 14 sheets-sheet 14 .NTOR

$07.552 rroRNc Y's Patented. Mar. 31, 1936 UNITED STATES BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINE John George Roehm and Oneida, N. Y., assignors,

Sherwood C. Bliss, by mesne assignments, to Smith Hood & Seal Corporation, Syracuse, N. Y., a. corporation of New York Application May 1, 1930, Serial No. 448,950

31 Claims.

'I'his invention relates to new and useful improvements in bottle-capping machines and pertains more particularly to a machine adapted to form and secure a skirted cap over the mouth 5 and around the neck of milk bottles, or the like,

during the shipping and handling thereof between the time the containers are lled and when A it is desired to remove the contents of the containers for use at which time the skirted caps may be quickly and easily removed by hand, which more or less mutilates the cap and prevents its reuse without detection.

'I'he main object of this invention is to producer an apparatus which will automatically form and apply the skirted caps tov bottles or other containers successively and with great rapidity so that the containers may receive the skirted caps as expeditiously as the standard form of caps or covers are applied thereto by a conventional capping machine.

Another object is to provide means whereby a disc composed of paper or other suitable capforming material, is brought over the mouth of the bottle and then automatically folded into a skirted cap in such manner by the movement of the bottle and capping mechanism towards each other that the skirt of the cap will be folded about the neck of the bottle.

A further object is to rmly secure the folded skirt of the cap about the neck of the bottle by means of a s-apling apparatus connected with the machine and by utilizing the -resistance of the neck of the bottle for clenching the staples as they are driven through the folds of the skirt of the Cap.

Still another object is to provide a stapling vmeans whereby the ends of each staple will be.

following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:-

Figure 1 is a top plan of a machine embodying the various features of this invention.

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the machine as 5 disclosed in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is anvenlarged detail vertical section taken Ain the plane of the line 3 3, Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a detail vertical section through the camshaft taken in the plane of the line 4 4, 10 Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a detail section taken in the plane of the line 5 5, Figure 4, with the cam section moved to the inoperative or at rest position.

Figure 6 is a face view of the drive clutch section taken in the plane of the line 6 6, Figure 4.

Figure 7 is a sectional view taken on line 1 1, Figure 4.

Figure 8 is a horizontal sectional view taken in the plane of the line 8 8, Figure 2.

Figure 9 is a detail section through one side of the clutch member taken in the plane of the line 9 9, Figure 8.

Figure l0 is a vertical section taken on line |0 |0, Figure 9.

Figure 11 is a detail vertical section taken on the line Il l I, Figure 12. l

Figure 12 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially in the plane of the line l2 l2, Figure 3.

Figure 13 is a detail section taken on line |3 l3, Figure 12.

Figure 14 is a section taken on line I 4 14, Figure 13.

Figure 15 is a horizontal sectional view taken in the plane of the line |5 |5, Figure 2.

Figure 16 is a detail section taken on the line lli-I6, Figure 2.

Figure 1'1 is a detail cross section taken on line n n, Figure 16. 40

Figure 18 is a detail horizontal sectional view taken in the plane of the line I 8 l8, Figure 22.

Figure 19 is a detail vertical sectional View taken in the plane of the line I9-I9, Figure 15.

Figure 20 is a, detail vertical section taken on line 20-20, Figure 8.

Figure 21 is a detail vertical section through the bottle lifting plunger taken on line 2| 2|, Figure 12.

Figure 22 is a detail vertical section of the bottle-capping mechanism taken on line 22 22, Figure 1.

Figure 23 is an enlarged detail section taken on line 23 23, Figure 24.

Figure 24 is an enlarged horizontal section taken through thestapling and folding mechanism in the plane of the line 24-24, Figure 22.

Figure 25 is an enlarged detail vertical section through one of the stapling mechanisms, taken in the plane of the line 25-25, Figure 26.

Figure 26 is a horizontal detail section taken in the plane of the line 26-26, Figure 25, with the neck of a bottle having a skirt of a cap in section in plait-folding and stapling relation therewith.

Figure 27 is an enlarged detail section through the wire driving mechanism taken on line 21-21, Figure 24.

Figure 28 is a vertical section taken on line 28-28, Figure 27.

Figure 29 is a sectional view taken on line 2li- 29. Figure 28.

Figures 30 and 31 are enlarged detail hori- Zontal sections of the forward end of one of the stapling devices illustrating respectively the manner in which the staple is cut and formed and driven into the folds ofthe bottle cap.

Figure 32 is a horizontal sectional view taken in the plane of the line 3.2-32, Figure 3.

Figures 33 and 34 are detail cross sectional views taken respectively on lines 33-33 and 34-34, Figure 32.

Figure 35 is a detail section taken on line 35-35, Figure 1, showing a face view of the bottle-capping operating lever and the crosshead connected therewith.

Figures 36 and 37 are detail sectional views taken respectively on lines 36--36 and 3'1-31, Figure 35.

Figures 38, 39' and. 40 are sectional views through the cap disc magazine taken respectively on lines 38-38, 39-39 and 40--4, Figure 1.

Figure 4l is a plan View of the pleat-forming plate taken on line III-4|, Figure 22.

Figure 42 is a fragmentary perspective view of the pleat-forming plate illustrating the manner in which the skirt of the cap is pleated.

Figure 43 is a perspective view of one of the cap-forming discs.

Figure 44 is a perspective View of the completed cap formed upon the mouth of a bottle.

Figure 45 is a sectional view taken on line 45-45, Figure 44, in the plane of the staples.

As illustrated in the drawings, this machine is constructed to automatically cap one bottle at a time and is adapted to be placed at any convenient location adjacent to and in co-operative relation with the'usual conveyor used in transporting the bottles from a conventional capping machine to receive the bottlesfrom said conveyor, and after applying the skirted caps thereto to return the bottles to the conveyor or other suitable carrier preparatory to crating and shipping the bottles.

'I'he device consists of a frame having a motor, a cam shaft and a-bottle carrier construction connected therewith to operate in xed relation to the frame and to each other and a bottlecapping mechanism adjustably mounted on the frame in oo-operative relation with the cam shaft and bottle carrier construction and adapted to be adjusted relative thereto to permit the capping of bottles of different sizes and capacities.

The frame as is preferably comprised of a bed plate 2 supported upon a plurality of, in this instance, four vertically disposed legs 3 positioned at respective corners of the plate 2. Each of the legs 3 may, as shown, be provided with an extension 4 removably secured to the bottom face of the legs by bolts 5. The leg extensions 4 are for the purpose of positioning the bed plate 2 in co-operative relation with a conveyor as A, Figure 1 used for transporting the bottles from a conventional bottle-capping machine and, therefore, the length of said extensions necessarily Idepends upon the distance the conveyor is posivertical plane near the other side of the frame I,

in a pair of brackets 9 and I Il.

The brackets'Q and ID are mounted in spaced relation with one of the brackets as 9, positioned A near the lower end of the cam shaft 8 and secured by screws or otherwise to the rear face of the frame I while the other bracket ||l is secured to the upper rear face of the bed plate 2 and extends upwardly and rearwardly therefrom to form the bearing support for the upper end of the cam shaft 8.

The motor 6 is operably connected with the cam shaft 8 in the following manner: The armature shaft I2 of the motor is connected by a fiexible coupling I3 tothe driven shaft I4 of a speed reducing unit I5 composed ofthe required gear train I6 as the Worm and gear to obtain the desired speed of the cam shaft 8.

The speed reducing unit I5 is secured by bolts or screws II to the rear face of one of the legs 3 of the frame I with the drive shaft I8 thereof positioned co-axially with the cam shaft 8 with which the drive shaft I8 is releasably connected by means of a. clutch member I9 mounted on the adjacent ends of the cam shaft and said drive shaft.

The clutch I9, in this instance, consists of an annular drive section secured in any suitable manner to the upper end of the drive shaft I 8 and a companion annular driven section 2| secured to the lower end of the cam shaft 8, as more clearly illustrated in Figure 4.

The upper face of the drive section 20 of the clutch I9 is provided with a slightly raised annular portion whichv is serrated to form ratchet teeth 22 formed with the upper faces thereof beveled for the purpose of driving the clutch section 2| in one direction only. The driven section 2| is releasably connected with the drive section 20 by means of a latch member 24 which is slidably mounted in a vertically disposed slot 25 provided in the periphery of the driven clutch section 2| (see Figures 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10).

The clutch latch 24 is held in the slot against lateral displacement by means of a pair of guide plates 26 and 2'I secured by screws 28 in spaced relation to the periphery of the driven clutch section 2|. The lower end of the latch 24 is beveled to conform to the face of the teeth 22 with which the latch is normally yieldingly held in engagement by a coil spring 28 positioned in a vertically disposed hole 29 provided in the upper end of the latch 24 with the upper end of the spring contacting with a spring retaining plate 3D1 positioned over the slot 25 and secured by screws 3| to the upper face of the driven clutch section 2|.

The outer vertical edge of the latch member 24 is provided with a slot 32 which has the upper wall 33 thereof slightly beveled upwardly and forwardly with the rear lower edge of said beveled wall registering when in the clutching position with the lower wall 34 of an annular groove 35 provided in the periphery of the driven clutch section 2| in registering .alignment with the adjacent ends of the plates 26 and 21. The groove 35 is substantially the same depth as the slot 32 in the latch 24 and is adapted to receive therein one end of a latch releasing lever 36 which is pivotally connected at 31 to the lower face of the lower positioned cam shaft bracket 9.

The end of the latch release lever 36 vadapted to engage the groove 35, has the inner edge thereof vprovided with an inwardly projecting flange' 38 which is substantially the same width as said groove and has the inner vertical edge thereof slightly concave to conform to and engage the inner vertical wall 35 of the groove 35 when in the operative position in said groove.

The forward portion 38 of the upper face of the flange 38 is tapered forwardly and downwardly to form a knife edge at the forward end of the flange for engaging the'tapered wall 33 of the slot 32 for lifting the latch 24 against the action of the spring 28, and thereby automatically disconnect the clutch sections by bringing the latch out of engagement with the teeth 22 of the drive clutch section, as shown by dotted lines in Figure 10 and thereby bring the cam shaft 8 and `the several units driven thereby at rest when the latch release lever 36 is in the position shown by full lines in Figure 5.

The other end of the latchv release lever 36 extends a short distance outwardly beyond the pivot 31 and is pivotally connected by a pin 48 to one end of a horizontally disposed connecting rod 4| which extends forwardly in a plane below the bed plate 2 with the forward end thereof pivotally connected at 42 to a bifurcated rock arm 43 which is secured to the-lower end of a, vertically disposed rock shaft 44.

The rock shaft 44 is journaled near its-lower end in one side of a bearing member 45, hereinafter more fully explained, while the'upper end of the shaft extends through and is journaled in the front portion of the bed-'plate 2 and has secured thereto one end of a horizontally disposed clutch release arm 46, (see Figures 11 and 12) Intermediate the pivot 31 and the outer end of the latch release lever 36 is an integral forwardly extending arm 41 which has the forward end thereof curved at substantially right angles to itself and towards the cam shaft 8 and has a stud 48 secured thereto upon which is rotatablymounted a roller 49 adapted to contact with the peripheral wall of the driven cam section 2| for limiting the outward movement of the latch engaging end 38 of the latch`release lever 36.

The roller 49 is'yieldingly maintained in contact with the clutchsection 2| by a tension spring 50 connected at one end to the pin 40 and at roller to rock the lever 36 about its pivot 31 The clutch release arm 46 is positioned to operate in a horizontal' plane between the bed plate 2 and a bottle carrier 54 with the end which is secured to the' rock shaft'44 positioned at one side of a vertically disposed shaft for operating the carrier 54 and which is journaled in the bearing member 45 and a second member 56 provided in lthe frame Iat the forward portion thereof.

The arm 46 extends rearwardly and to the op'- posite side of the shaft 55 with the free end of the arm provided with a V-shaped projection or lug 51 adapted to engage a notch 58 provided near one end of a rock arm 59 which lis pivotally mounted on a shouldered screw 60 secured to the bed plate 2.

The arm 59 extends forwardly from the pivotal screw 60 with the forward end thereof provided with 'a roller 6| rotatably mounted on a shouldered stud 62 secured to said end of the arm 59, the roller 6| being provided and positioned to be successively engaged by the bottles as they are received by the bottle carrier-54 from the conveyor A for automatically operating the clutch |9 to connect the cam shaft with the source of power, as the motor 6.

The rock arm 59, in this instance, is composed of two sections 63 and 64 adjustably mounted one upon the other (see Figures 12, 13 and 14). The

lower section 63 has one end thereof extending n rearwardly from the pivot 60 and provided with the notch 58 for engaging the clutch release arm 46. 'I'he other end of the arm extends forwardly from the pivotal screw 68 and is provided with a. plurality of, in this instance, three apertures 65 adapted to receive a pin 66 therein. The pin 66 is secured to the upper section 64 of the arm 59 which has one end pivotally mounted on the screw 60 and .the other end provided with the stud 62 and roller 6|.

In assembling the arm 59, the pin 66 may be positioned in one of the apertures 65 to properly position the roller 6| depending upon the diameter of the bottles to be capped and then the two sections are clamped together by a screw 61 which is mounted in the upper arm section 64 with the lower portion of the screw.provided with a slot 68 adapted to engage the .end edge of the lower arm section 63.A A thumb screw 69 is screw threaded on the upper endof the screw 61 for securely clamping said arm sections together.

The arm 59 is maintained in spaced relation with the bed plate 2 by a spacing collar 1D mounted on the pivotal screw 60 while the arm is yieldingly maintained in the operative position by a spring 1| coiled about the collar 18 with one end thereof secured in the bed plate 2 and the other end engaging the arm 59.

The arm 59 is maintained in the normal operaby alimiting stop member 12 positioned intermediate the outer end of the arm 59 and the pivotal screw 60 and secured to the upper face of the bed plate 2 by a screw 13. Y

It is now evident that when the clutch release arm 46 is engaged by the rock arm 59, the clutch latch release lever 36 will be positioned with the end flange 38 in the groove 35 in the path of movement of the latch 24 for disconnecting the clutch sections and discontinuing the rotation of the cam shaft 8, as shown by full lines Figures 5, 8 and 12, said cam shaft coming -to rest in the position shown in Figure 5.

As soon, however, as the arm 59 is rocked to release the clutch release arm 46, the latch retive position against the action of the spring 1| G0 lease lever 36 will be rocked about the pivot 31 fully described, and after-the cap has beenapby the actionof the spring 50 to release latch 24 which will then be moved by the spring 28 into engagement'with the drive `clutch section 29, thereby causing the cam shaft 8 to be rotated by the motor 6.

At the same time, the roller 49 will be brought into contact with the periphery of the clutch section 2 I.ahead'of the cam 52, as illustrated by dotted lines, Figure 5, and in position to be engaged by the cam-segment 52 which will rock the lever 3B andrestore the end 38 to the latch releasing position in the groove for disengaging the clutch sections at the end of the cycle and, at the same time, bring the clutch release arm 46 into holding engagement with the rock arm 59 to maintain the lever 36 in the clutch-releasing position until such time as the arm 46 is again released by the rocking of the arm 59 from anyl movably mountedon the upper end of the carvrier shaft 55 in a plane above the bed 2 of the frame I, as more clearly illustrated in Figures 2, 3 v

and 19. v v

The hereinbefore mentioned bearing members 45 and 56 for the bottle carrier shaft 55 are mounted in a downwardly projecting tubular extension 15 made integral with the bed plate 2. 'I'he bearing member 45 is secured by-a screw 16 inthe lower end `of extension 15 and extendsbelow said extension to support the lower end of the shaft 55 while thebearing member 56 is mounted in the upper end of the extension and is provided with an enlarged portionv 56 which extends above the y bed plate 2.

'The upper end 55' of the carrier shaft 55 extends above the bearing 56 and, in this instance, is made slightly larger in diameter than the remaining portion of the shaft and is provided with an enlarged integral annular ange 11 at the junction of the end portion 55 and the major 'portion of the shaft 5,5, said flange 11 being adapted to engage the upper end surface of the bearing 56 to limit the downward axial movement of the shaft 55.

The upper end 55' of the shaft 55 is also provided with a key 18 which extends diametrically through the shaft with the ends thereof projecting a short distance either side of the shaft for registering in respective diametrically opposed slots 19 provided in the opening in the hub 80 of the bottleV carrier 54 for causing said carrier to rotate with the shaft 55 while the carrier is secured on the shaft between the ange and a wing nut 8| screw threaded on the outer end of the shaft portion 55' to prevent accidental displacement of the carrier and at the same time, provide for the quick and easy removal and changing of the carrier by simply removing the nut 8| when bottles of different diameters are to be capped, as for instance, when changing from pint bottles to quart bottles, or vice versa.

The bottle carriers 54 used in the machine are for the purpose of receiving the bottles from the conveyor A and feeding them intermittently and successively into operative alignment with a plied to returnvthe'bottles to the conveyor A.

The carrier 54 consists of a substantially fiat body portion 84 having a plurality of, in this instance six, semi-circular bottle-receiving recesses 85 arranged in uniformly spaced relation circumferentially about the axis of the carrier shaft 55.

The recesses 85 are4 each constructed with a greater diameter than that of the bottles to be received therein andwith the centers thereof lying .in an arc concentric with the carrier shaft 55 and which passes through the vertical axis of the capping mechanism. Each recess 85 terminates at the outer edges thereof in a pair of spaced lugs 86 and 81 forming the mouth of the respective recess and having their' opposed faces subspaced at substantially ninety degrees from each other and positioned at the forward side of the respective recesses.

The arms 88 extend above the' body ofthe car- `rier a s hort distance to form a substantial support for the bottle and have their inner vertical faces substantially perpendicular and spaced from the center of the recess a distance equal to the-radius of the base of the bottle so as to position thebottle when in contact therewith concentric with the respective recess, and therefore, with the capping mechanism when the recess is in registration with said capping mechanism.

Upon each recess 85 containing a bottle to be capped being moved 'into registration with the bottle-capping mechanism, the bottle containedtherein brought into contact with the bottlesupporting arms 88 and, therefore, in operative alignment with the capping mechanism by means of a bottle positioning arm 89 pivotallymounted at one end to a stud 90 secured to the bed plate 2 a short distance at the rear of the axis of the capping mechanism and out of the path of movement of the bottle carrier 54.

The arm 89 extends a relativelyshort distance forwardly from the pivot 90vand outwardly beyond the outer adjacent edge of the` frame I -rality of, in this instance two, radial arms 88 (see Figures 12,` 32 and 33). The outer end of `is journaled intermediate its ends on a shouldered stud secured to the -underside of the upper positioned cam shaft bracket'l' (see Figure 3). A roller 96 is rotatably mounted on a stud 91 secured to the inner end of the arm 94 for engaging theperiphery of a cam member 98 which is secured to the cam shaft 8 by the screw 99 to rotate therewith, the roller 96 being held in constant contact with the 'cam 98 by means vof a tension spring |08 connected at one end to the outer end of the arm 89 and having the other end' connected to a stud |0| which, in turn, is secured to the frame The front vertical face of the arm 89 is provided with opposed bevelededges |02 to form a supporting way upon which is adjustably mounted' a plate |03 which projects inwardly a short distance beyond the arm 89 and has its inner vertical edge |03' extended upwardly a short distance for contacting with and moving the bottle into contact with the positioning arms 88 of the respective recess 85 of the carrier 54. This positioning operation of the bottle is effected each time a recess appears in registration with the bottle-capping mechanism by the* movement as the arm 89 is actuated by the cam 93 during each revolution of the cam shaft 8.

The plate |03 is adjustably clamped to the arm 89 by a clamping bolt |04 which extends through a vertically disposed aperture provided in the plate |03 intermediate the ends thereof, said bolt |04, in this instance, having a portion of one side thereof formed with a`slot adapted to receive the way and being provided with a thumb Anut |05 screw threaded on the upper end thereof, the plate |03 being adjustably clamped to the arm 89 to permit the positioning of the plate for bottles of different diameters.

A bottle guide bracket |06 is clamped to the forward portion of the bed plate 2 to assist in guiding the bottle as it is moved by the carrier 54 from the conveyor A into registration with the bottle-capping mechanism and, for this purpose, the bracket |06 has its inner vertical edge |06 extended upwardly to form a substantial guide for the bottles.

The bracket is adjustably clamped to the bed 2` for guiding bottles of different diameters by a stud |01 positioned in an elongated slot |08 formed in the bracket 06 and having one end thereof screw threaded in a bar |09 which, in

turn, is secured to the bed plate 2 by screws ||0,

said stud |01 being provided with a Wing nut screw threaded on the outer end thereof for clamping the bracket |06 in a predetermined position. The bar ||Aalso registers in a suitable longitudinal groove 2 provided in the lower face of the bracket |06 for maintaining said bracket against pivotal movement about the stud |01. A curved guide bar ||3 L-shaped in cross section is secured by screws ||3 or their equivalent to the upper face of the bed plate 2 in spaced relation to and substantially concentric with the rear portion of the bottle carrier 54. The guide bar extends from the vicinity of the arm 89 to the front face of the bed plate 2 for guiding the bottles as they are moved by the carrier 54 from the capping position to the conveyor A (see Figures 1 and 32).

The bottle carrier 54 is intermittently rotated the distance between two adjacent bottle-receiving recesses 85 by the cam shaft 8 at each revolution of the shaft in the following manner:

Two shafts ||4 and |5 are disposed in parallel spaced relation in substantially the same horizontal plane longitudinally of the frame and below the bed plate 2.

'I'he forwardly positioned shaft |4 is journaled in a bearing IIE secured to a bearing supporting bracket H6' secured to or made integral with the frame The shaft 4 extends from the carrier shaft 55 rearwardly to a position intermediate the front and rear of the frame and is operatively connected with the carrier shaft 55 by a pair of beveled gears ||1 (see Figures 8 and 19) one of which is secured to the forward end of the shaft 3 and the other one to the lower end of the carrier shaft 55. The other horizontal shaft is journaled in a bearing member 8 mounted at and secured to the rear portion of the frame said shaft ||5 Ibeing operably connected to the cam shaft 8 by means of a pair of beveled gears |9 (see Figure 4), one of said gears being connected to the lrear end of the shaft ||5 and the other gear to the cam shaft 8 in a plane above the lower bearing bracket 9 and spaced therefrom by means of a thrustwasher |20 for preventing downward axial movement of the cam shaft 8.

The shaft H5 extends forwardly from the cam shaft 8 to the vicinity of the inner end of the shaft ||4 and has a crank arm |2| secured thereto to rotate therewith and adapted to engage an indexing member as a star wheel |22 secured to the inner endof the shaft |4 to rotate therewith.

The star wheel |22 is provided with a plurality of, in this instance six, radial slots |23 (see Figure '1) extending from the periphery inwardly and adapted to receive therein a roller as |24 pivotally mounted on a stud |25 secured to the free end of the crank arm |2| so that upon each revolution of the shaft ||5 and crank arm |2|, the shaft l I4 will be moved the distance between two adjacent slots |23 or, in this instance, onesixth of a revolution by the action of the arm 2 The peripheral face of the wheel |22 intermediate the radial slots |23 is concaved for receiving an annular disc |26 having a corresponding convex surface and secured or made integral with the crank arm |2| for maintaining said wheel in fixed position when not engaged by the roller |24.

Amotion is transmitted to the bottle carrier 54 through the beveled gears |1 and carrier shaft 55.

Associated with the bottle carrier 54 is a bottle supporting cylindrical plunger |28 mounted for vertical reciprocative movement in a pendant vertically elongated hollow boss or bearing |29 made integral with the bed plate 2, Figures 3, 12 and 15, and positioned at the rear and to one side of the carrier `supporting shaft 55 in co-operative alignment with one of the bottle-receiving recesses 85 of the carrier 54 so that the bottle, when moved by the carrier from the conveyor A, will come to rest upon the plunger |28 which when in the normal down position has the upper end surface thereof in the plane of the upper surface of the bed plate 2.

The plunger |28. is moved vertically to force the bottle. to and from its cap-receiving position and, for this purpose, said plunger is provided with a diametrically disposed slot |28 positioned near the lower end thereof for receiving one end of a substantially horizontally disposed rearwardly extending rock arm |30. The forward end of the rock arm |30 enters the slot |28 through a vertically disposed slot |29 formed in the rear' wall of the boss |29 in registration with the slot |28 in the plunger |28.

The end of the arm |30 disposed inthe plunger slot |28 is of less vertical height than said slot and has the upper and lower surface thereof curved longitudinally to contact with adjacent ends of a vertically disposed pin |3| and screw |32.

The screw |32 is screw threaded in the lower end of the plunger and secured therein by a lock nut |33 screw threaded on the outer end of the screw while the pin |3| is adapted to contact with It is now evidentthat any rotary motion of the upper face of the arm |30 and, for this purpose, is mounted for longitudinal movement in a vertically disposed bore |34 which extends from the slot |28 to the upper end of the plunger in vertical alignment with the screw |32.

The pin |3| is yieldingly maintained in con-v tact with the end of the arm 30 by means of a compression spring |35 positioned in the bore |34 between the pin |3| and a screw |36 screw threaded in the upper end .of the bore |34, said spring being of sufiicient tension to support the weight of the plunger and the bottle B to be capped and thereby maintain the arm in contact with the screw |32 under normal pressure and, at the same time, provide a yielding connection between the arm and the plunger so that the bottle B may be brought, by the action of the arm, to the capping position without damage to the bottle.

The plunger |28 may be adjusted relative to the arm and bed plate 2 by the manipulation of the screw |32 to bring the upper end surface of the plunger in the plane-of the upper` surface of the bed plate 2 to smoothly receive the bottle from the bed plate as said bottle is being positioned on the plunger by the action of the bottle carrier 54 in a manner hereinbefore explained.

'I'he plunger |28 is also provided with suitable longitudinally disposed slots or recesses |31, |38 and |39 formed in the peripheral wall thereof in vertical alignment respectively with the.

bottle-supporting arms 88 on the bottle .carrier 54 and the bottle positioning plate |03 on the arm 89 to permit the plunger to freely move past said arms and plate during the longitudinal movement thereof.

The arm |30 is rotatably mounted intermediate its ends upon one end of a stud |40 secured to the frame near the rear end thereof in a plane below the bed plate 2. The other or rear end of the rock arm |30 is provided with a roller stud |4| engaging in the cam groove |42 of the cam Wheel |42 secured in any suitable manner as by a key |43 and set screw |44 to the cam shaft 8 intermediate the cam member 98 and one of the beveled gears H9, Figure 4, so that upon each .revolution of the cam shaft 8 and cam wheel |42, a vertical reciprocative movement will be imparted by the arm |30 to the plunger |28 to bring the bottle resting on the plunger to and from the capping position.

Bottle capping mechanism The bottle-capping mechanism, in this instance, consists primarily of a cap blank feeding apparatus adapted to automatically feed one cap forming disc at a time over the mouth of a bottle, a cap-forming mechanism adaptedto form the disc into a skirted cap over the mouth of the bottle and, at the same time, to pleat the skirt of the cap, a mechanism forfolding the pleats about the neck of the bottle and a stapling means for securing the skirted cap in position on said bottle, all of which are mounted in cooperative relation with each other andvwith the bottle plunger |28 upon a vertically disposed supporting shaft |45 (see Figures 3, 15 and 20).

The shaft |45 is mounted for longitudinal vertical movementin the frame for the purpose of varying the relative position of the capping mechanism and. the bottle-Supporting plunger |28 for permitting the capping of bottles of different extending tubular projection |46 made integral with the bed plate 2 and located at the rear and to one side of the axis of the bottle carrier 54. The supporting shaft |45 is splined by a key |41 secured to the shaft and registering in a longitudinal key way provided in the bore of the projection |40 to prevent rotation of the shaft while the shaft is adjustably maintained in a predetermined fixed position by means of a lift collar |41 mounted on thereduced lower end |45 of the shaft |45 with the upper face of the collar in contact with the shoulder'formed by said reduced portion (see Figures 3, 8 and 20) The collar |41 is provided with a lateral portion |41 having a vertical bore therethrough adapted to receive an adjusting screw |48 which has its upper and lower ends rotatably mounted in suitable apertures provided in the extension |46 and adjacent tie member 3 of the frame v respectively.

The screw |48 is held against axial movement by a collar |49 secured to the lower end of the screw in contact with the lower surface of the cross member 3 while a hand wheel |50' for rotating said screw is secured to the screw with the hub thereof contacting with the upper surface of said cross member so that the supporting shaft |45 and, therefore, the capping mechanism carried thereby may be elevated or lowered at will by the proper manipulation of the hand wheel |50 and screw |48 and then secured in the adjusted position against axial movement by means of a pair of clamping sleeves and |52, said sleeves being slidably mounted in a bore provided in a horizontal boss. |53 extending inwardly from the adjacent side of the frame and tangentially to the extension |46 'for the supporting shaft |45 (see Figure 15), said bore being disposed tangentially to and partially intercepting the bore in said extension so that by positioning the sleeves |5| and |52 in spaced relation at opposite sides of the shaft |45, the opposed ends of the sleeves may be brought into clamping engagement with the shaft 45 by means of a locking screw |54.

Said locking screw |54 is rotatably mounted in the outer positioned sleeve 5| with the inner end of the screw provided with threads and having threaded engagement with the inner positioned sleeve |52. The screw |54 is also provided with a head |54' of larger diameter than the screw and adapted to engage the outer end of the sleeve |5| so that by the manipulation of the screw |54, the sleeves |5| and |52 may be moved to and from each other into and out of gripping engagement with the shaft |45.

The supporting shaft |45 extends a considerable distance above the bed plate 2, and in this instance, has the upper portion thereof provided with a bearing portion |45" slightly reduced in diameter and a still further reduced portion |45'" provided at the upper end thereof.

Upon the upper reduced end |45" of the shaft |45 is rigidly mounted a capping head member |55 having a plurality of, in this instance three, radial arms |55 for supporting the cap-forming and stapling mechanism. A lever supporting ring |56 is also supported by the end |45" and is positioned in spaced relation over said head member and connected therewith by a vertically disposed spacing stud |51 positioned diametrically opposite the supporting shaft |45, said stud being screw threaded in the head |55 and having its upper reduced end |51 extending through a suitable aperture in the ring |56 vand clamped 

